the last day of summer
by Measured
Summary: Watanuki gets walked home. It wasn’t a date, really. Watanuki isn’t in denial at all. Light sort-of Doumeki/Watanuki.


Title: the last day of summer

Series: XXXholic

Characters/Pairing: sort of Doumeki/Watanuki

Rating: G-ish in nature

Author Notes/Warnings: written for dimension shop on lj (it's a CLAMP exchange). This was the shortfic round, thus there was a 1,000 word limit. I barely eked by, haha.

Summary: Watanuki gets walked home. It wasn't a date, really. Watanuki isn't in denial at all. Light sort-of Doumeki/Watanuki.

Notes:

Yakisoba-pan: bread roll sandwich with yakisoba (fried noodles and red pickled ginger) filling.

Ochazuke: hot green tea or dashi poured over cooked white rice, often with various savoury ingredients such as umeboshi or tsukemono

Umeboshi: small, pickled ume fruit. Usually red and very sour, often served with bento lunch boxes or as a filling for onigiri.

Whew..I had a hard time fitting this all into so little words! Consider it one of those days where you're having so much fun, it all goes by so quickly.

* * *

"You don't _have_ to walk me home, I know the way," Watanuki said irritably.

"It's getting late, there'll be spirits around, " Doumeki replied.

And it was. Dusk mingled in many colors, reflecting off of the windows of the office buildings and sky-scrapers, Watanuki could feel the reverberations of passing creatures, but with Doumeki close, they were but a dull roar on the edge of his consciousness.

Summer was fading into fall, the chill had already begun. Soon the leaves would turn brilliant shades, as if they were burning. As Watanuki settled into the rhythm, his mind wandered back to the day's events.

Of course Watanuki had some suspicions as Yuuko's latest assignment was to "have fun", with a wicked grin that made him think she had very different definitions of 'fun' – none of which he wanted to know or be a part of.

She'd sent him to the carnival, which would soon be closing its doors until yet another summer, with only the instructions to be sure to pick up some 'tonic' from the local Green Pharmacy (said with a wink) on the way home.

And she'd made it clear that Doumeki had to go with him.

The line for tickets was downright painful, far worse than riding the buses home, as this time he was wedged uncomfortably close between harried mother with two crying children and another child who seemed downright rabid.

He was relieved when they finally left the crowd.

Later on, Doumeki won a rather large, garish, colored panda at a game involving shooting. Watanuki had been determined to beat him, and at least bring home one for himself, but found them horribly rigged against him. (Doumeki also managed to win a rather angry looking cat, also in bright colors that certainly did not occur in nature. He gave it to Watanuki, muttering something about it 'looking like him'. Watanuki failed to see the resemblance, even if it _did_ have tiny spectacles.)

They'd then rode the Whirligig, something like a bright neon merry-go-round hopped up on speed and steroids. Watanuki would've loved to see Doumeki show some weakness to rides, but Doumeki, apparently, had a stomach of iron. It was Doumeki who was supporting him on their way out, not the other way around.

Watanuki shouldn't have been scared by the haunted house, he dealt with these types of creatures on a daily basis, but the atmosphere was a little too effective and he hated how much he was clinging to Doumeki, and especially the newfound realization that Doumeki was very warm and had a vague yet alluring scent to him, undeniable, incense and wood, smoke and sweat.

They had ate fried food with no nutritional value whatsoever, and sipped at cola that was too-sweet and Doumeki muttered that this was ok, but Watanuki's cooking was better ("I want Ochazuke next time. With Umeboshi")

They'd even ridden the ferris wheel, where Watanuki was reminded all too uncomfortably of shoujo manga (Which was his secret love that he really hoped Yuuko never found out about) This would be exactly the moment when the heroine (spunky or shy, willing or not) would be stuck while the gears changed, this is when the heroine got her first kiss.

Watanuki had sat as far away as possible from Doumeki, and stared out at the lights, slowly appearing in the dusk, the day almost over, and trying not to focus on the point that yes, this was terribly romantic and something he would love to do one day with a person who _wasn't_ Doumeki.

He'd snuck a glance and found Doumeki watching him, which caused a tingle to run down his spine.

"What?" Watanuki said.

"Nothing," Doumeki muttered.

And after that they had filed out, Watanuki feeling vaguely paranoid about the fact that his heart was hammering, which was _not_ supposed to happen around Doumeki.

They walked close, and each stride Doumeki's arm swung, almost touching his own. Somehow, it seemed they reached home all too quickly.

"So," Doumeki said upon reaching the gates of Watanuki's apartment complex.

Watanuki could just hear Yuuko's sing-song voice in his head, followed by a chorus from the twins and Larg. _Doumeki and Watanuki went on a daaaate, Watanuki's going to get kiiiiiiissssed! Kiss! Kiss! Watanuki's going to get kiiiissed!_ He screamed in frustration at the phantoms of his employers, which only made those apparitions laugh and frolic away, their inane chanting ringing over and over.

Doumeki stared blankly, quite used to Watanuki having apoplectic fits over nothing and holding conversations to invisible supposed-spirits. Frankly, very little surprised him anymore.

"Meet you on the way to school tomorrow?"

"Fine, I have to give Yuuko her 'tonic' first though."

"Good. I want Yakisoba-pan tomorrow."

"YOU HAD THAT JUST LAST WEEK," Watanuki shrieked.

As Doumeki left, he could just _see_ Yuuko smirking, and knew she'd have a barrage of insinuations and smirks probably for the next week at least, though it could be longer, far longer knowing her memory

"Yakisoba-pan," he muttered, already planning out the lunch for tomorrow.


End file.
